Research Guides: Animal Law: Ag-Gag

Ag-Gag

Theses

Doomed to Fail: Ag-gag Laws and the Canadian Charter by Samantha Lynne Skinner
Publication Date: 2021
York University
Open Access

Journal Articles

Ontario’s Ag-Gag Law, Where do Things Stand? by Angela Fernandez
(2025) 33:3 Constitutional Forum 15
Open Access
Nothing to Hide: How Governments Justify the Adoption of Ag-gag Laws by Anelyse M Weiler & Tayler Zavitz
(2024) 45:2 Canadian Review of Sociology 1
Open Access
Silenced Voices: Conceptualizing Ontario’s Ag-Gag Legislation by Samuel Mazzuca
(2024) 44 National Journal of Constitutional Law 329
Available online to the U of T community
Bearing Witness, Animal Rights and the Slaughterhouse Vigil by Steve Cooke
(2023) December European Journal of Political Theory
Open Access
Animal Rights Activism and the Constitution: Are Ag-Gag Laws Justifiable Limits? by Jodi Lazare
(2022) 59:3 Osgoode Hall Law Journal 667
Open Access
Fake Laws: How Ag-Gag Undermines the Rule of Law in Canada by Katie Sykes and Sam Skinner
(2022) 28:2 Animal Law 229
Available online to the U of T community.
Activism, Ag-gag, Accountability (Poem) by Samantha Skinner
(2021) 18:1 Journal for Critical Animal Studies 104
Open Access
Ag-Gag Laws, Animal Rights Activism, and the Constitution: What is Protected Speech? by Jodi Lazare
(2020) 58:1 Alberta Law Review 83
Open Access
The Save Movement and Farmed Animal Suffering: The Advocacy Benefits of Bearing Witness as a Template for Law by Maneesha Deckha
(2019) 5 Canadian Journal of Comparative and Contemporary Law 77
Open Access
The "Pig Trial" Decision: The Save Movement, Legal Mischief, and the Legal Invisibilization of Farmed Animal Suffering by Maneesha Deckha
(2018) 50:1 Ottawa Law Review 65
Open Access
Bearing Witness: Is Giving Thirsty Pigs Water Criminal Mischief or a Duty? by Anita Krajnc
(2017) 23:2 Animal Law Review 47
Open Access
Witnessing Animal Others: Bearing Witness, Grief, and the Political Function of Emotion by Gillespie, Kathryn
(2016) 31:3 Hypatia 572
Available to the U of T Community

Leading Cases

Animal Justice et al v. A.G. of Ontario 2024 ONSC 1753
Constitutional Law
(2024) In a landmark decision, Ontario's Superior Court of Justice struck down most of the province's ag-gag law, in the first case challenging a Canadian ag-gag law. Justice Markus Koehnen declared restrictions on undercover investigations at farms and slaughterhouses unconstitutional, citing violations of the right to freedom of expression. While upholding restrictions on protests outside slaughterhouses, the ruling suspends provisions banning undercover work. The decision follows a lawsuit by Animal Justice, journalist Jessica Scott-Reid, and activist Louise Jorgensen. Advocates celebrate the victory, emphasizing the importance of transparency in the food industry and the role of investigative work in exposing animal cruelty.

Videos

Food Transparency & Ag-Gag Laws by Justin Marceau
Animal Law Fundamentals, Brooks Institute for Animal Rights, Law & Policy
Ag-Gag in Canada: The Constitutional Right to See by Jodi Lazare
Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law, Talking Animals, Law & Philosophy Series

Legislation

Alberta

Trespass Statutes (Protecting Law-Abiding Property Owners) Amendment Act, 2019, SA 2019, c 23

Manitoba

The Animal Diseases Amendment Act, SM 2021, c 53

Ontario

Prince Edward Island

Federal (Proposed)

2023, Bill C-275, An Act to amend the Health of Animals Act (biosecurity on farms)
Ag-gag style bill aiming to penalize individuals unlawfully accessing properties with animals if it poses a risk of exposing them to diseases or toxic substances.

Animal Law

Ag-Gag

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